Court's Question: Is a Negotiator a Pirate?

Judge says US prosecutors 'overreaching' in seeking life sentence

(Newser)
–
Ali Mohamed Ali wasn't involved in the hijacking of a Danish ship, but the pirates in question called on him to help negotiate a $1.7 million ransom; they asked because he speaks English, his lawyers say. Now, he's facing a mandatory life sentence after US prosecutors charged him with piracy—but a judge in the case says the feds have gone too far. They got the US-educated Ali back onto American soil through a fake invitation to an education conference and arrested him on arrival, reports Courthouse News Service. He was then held for 30 months.

The case raises "serious due process concerns," says Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle, citing "government overreaching." At a pretrial hearing, a prosecutor told Ali that "no one thinks you're a pirate," the Los Angeles Times reports. Indeed, he may not be "a perfectly lovely guy, but it's a very, very odd and ambitious prosecution," says a legal expert. For their part, prosecutors point to a tough battle against piracy. "This case shows our resolve to prosecute pirates and those who profit from crimes on the high seas," says one. The trial is expected to last weeks.

In this Sept. 23, 2012, file photo, a Somali government soldier walks next to some of the overturned pirate skiffs that litter the dunes on the shoreline near the once-bustling pirate den of Hobyo.
(AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh, File)

The world's "authorities" need a dictionary so they can look up "pirate". What i see is, all he did was translate (which may have even saved lives, as the real pirates may've simply started killing people in frustration)...
Did this man enter someplace illegally and leave with unreplenished plunder? Did he use fear and threats to get his way? Did he endanger innocent victims with his actions?
Or did he at least make a copy of a DVD? :-)

DougMasters

Nov 6, 2013 10:31 PM CST

"They got the US-educated Ali back onto American soil through a fake
invitation to an education conference and arrested him on arrival,
reports Courthouse News Service. He was then held for 30 months."
That should be a human rights violation,

Community

Site Maps

Get Newser

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.